Update Your Sliding Glass Doors With A Modern Upgrade From Dave & Jenny Marrs That Lowers Energy Costs

If you want to connect your home with the outdoors, bring in more natural light, and give your space a modern feel, buying sliding patio doors is often the answer. But dated designs and poorly fitted doors can actually have the opposite effect. If you're due an upgrade, Dave and Jenny Marrs show us that simply widening our sliding glass doors can make a big difference. Not only does it give a home a sleeker, more contemporary look and invite more light inside, but it can help lower energy costs, too.

Sliders need to be weatherproof to keep drafts out, but they can also contribute to your home's energy efficiency in another way. By allowing more sunlight into a room, they can make it warmer during the day. In Season 5 Episode 14 of "Fixer to Fabulous," the HGTV duo upgrade the sliding doors in the modern living room of the homeowners' lakeside property to harness these benefits.

"We have another slider [door] I see. We need to figure this out because these two windows aren't consistent," Jenny said upon entering the room in the episode. "They're not the same height. It feels weird, so we need to clean that up." On her blog, Dave and Jenny Marrs, she also wrote: "Since we had taken out the sliding glass doors from the dining area, we added a big slider here." By combining the clunky fixtures into one larger opening, they create a cleaner, more modern look. Besides being sleeker, it also means the space is flooded with more light.

The homeowners in this episode loved the outdoors. Given the property's proximity to the lake, the Marrses wanted to make the most of the natural light and showcase the surrounding scenery. The larger slider does just that, creating a more open feel and blurring the line between indoors and out. 

Of course, choosing energy efficient windows and doors is an important step toward making your home feel more comfortable, but as Dave and Jenny demonstrate, the size of your sliding doors matters, too. Besides creating a more seamless modern aesthetic, there are practical advantages. According to data from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the EPA/DOE ENERGY STAR program, efficient windows and doors can reduce a home's annual heating and cooling bills by 13%. When those windows have a larger surface that allows more light in, they can warm a room during the day (especially in south-facing rooms) and lower electricity usage by reducing the need for artificial lighting.

To further upgrade your sliding doors, choose a window treatment that will insulate your space through the winter. Pairing blinds with traditional drapes will give you light control in the day time and a layer of warmth at night. You could also consider an easy DIY to make sliding doors look modern without curtains or blinds. For example, paint the frames black for a sleek look, or add frosted window film to offer more privacy without blocking light.